University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff s1
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
Faculty/Staff Handbook
Policy: SENATE
Policy #: 2.1
A. Membership
Members of the Senate are drawn from the Assembly, and include both ex-officio and elected members. Elected members have the right of voice and vote. Ex-officio members have the right of voice only.
1. Ex-Officio Members: Ex-Officio members are the Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, Deans and Directors
2. Elected Members:
a. Each academic department elects one of its own members
b. Seven Assembly members are elected by the Assembly as Senate representatives-at-large
3. Four student assembly members elected by the Student Senate
B. Elections
Election are held in April of each school year for departmental representatives and members-at- large, and in September for student members.
1. Department Representatives: The president of the Senate will notify each department head, in writing, on or about April 1, of department representative vacancies. Each department head is responsible for conducting an election within the department and reporting the results to the president of the Senate not later than May 1. Elections will be by secret ballot.
2. Student Representatives: Nomination and election of student senators will be accomplished during a meeting of the Student Senate held in September of each year.
3. Vacancies: In the event of vacancies arising during the school year, the president of the Senate has the right to appoint interim members-at-large. For all other elected members, the president of the Senate will request the responsible person conduct the necessary election to determine a replacement.
C. Term
1. The officers of the Senate are president, vice president, secretary and parliamentarian, with duties customary to these offices.
2. The chairman and vice chairman of the Assembly are also president and vice president of the Senate.
3. The secretary and parliamentarian are elected annually by a majority vote of the first fall meeting following the general elections.
4. The president of the Senate will ensure compliance with the provisions of this document; will cast the tie breaking vote on any Senate matter; will appoint ad hoc committees to perform special services as needed; and will sit as an ex- officio, non-voting member on all committees.
5. The parliamentarian will serve as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, the members of which will be appointed by the president. The Rules Committee will establish procedures for the conduct of meetings.
6. The secretary of the Senate will also serve as secretary for the Assembly.
D. Meetings
The Senate will meet in October, December, February, April and once in the summer. Special meetings may be called by the president or by petition of twenty percent of the Senate.
1. Quorum: A simple majority of the elected membership of the Senate constitutes a quorum.
Any senator unable to attend a Senate meeting may designate, in writing, another Assembly member as his/her proxy. The substituting member will be included when
determining the presence of a quorum.
2. Attendance: The president of the Senate may request the replacement of any elected senator who misses two consecutive meetings regardless of the appointment of a proxy.
3. Agenda: The president of the Senate is responsible for providing each senator with a notification of meeting dates and times, and for providing him/her with an agenda of subjects to be addressed. The notification and agenda will be published no less than seven days prior to the meeting date. This requirement may be abrogated for emergency-called meetings.
4. Any item submitted by a senator to the Agenda Committee will be placed on the agenda if received prior to the publication date.
5. Any item submitted by the chairman of a standing committee (Section III) will be placed on the agenda. The committee recommendation must be in sufficient detail to permit knowledgeable and prompt action by the full Senate. The committee chairman may appear before the full Senate to explain and defend the committee recommendation.
6. All agenda items will be acted upon prior to opening the floor for consideration of other business. Standing committee recommendations must be acted upon within sixty days of
submission to the president or at the next scheduled meeting.
7. All standing committees introducing recommendations designed to be considered for the purpose of developing institutional policy must be placed on the Senate Agenda.
8. Minutes: The president of the Senate is responsible for ensuring prompt publication and distribution of the minutes of Senate meetings.
9. Minutes will be forwarded promptly to the Chancellor and senators, with a copy deposited in the John Watson Library. Each senator, in turn, is responsible for disseminating information within his/her department, including posting the minutes on departmental bulletin boards.
10. Summaries of meetings will be made available to all campus offices promptly after each meeting.
E. Authority
1. The Senate exercises general legislative and advisory powers and is empowered to act on all matters within the jurisdiction of the Assembly.
2. Legislative Action becomes effective thirty days following the date of enactment with the following qualifications:
a. Any Senate action may be vetoed by the Chancellor within thirty days of the action. If differences cannot be resolved, the Senate may, by at least three-fifths vote of those present and voting, appeal these differences to the President of the University for mediation. If settlement is not achieved within thirty days, the President shall submit the issue to the Board of Trustees for resolution.
b. The Assembly may exercise its power of referendum on any Senate action by petition of thirty-five members of the Assembly. The petition must be presented to the president of the Senate within thirty days of enactment of the legislation in question. Thereafter, the legislative action will be suspended pending reconsideration by the Senate and/or full Assembly.
c. Any action considered by the Senate or the Chancellor to carry clear and significant implications for other universities will be set aside for up to sixty days and referred to other faculty governments in the system or to the President of the University.
d. All communications should be in writing and signed by the appropriate person(s).
F. Fiscal and Clerical Support
1. Adequate operational funds will be provided through the campus budget. A separate budgetary category is established for campus governance.
2. The Administrative Assistant to the Chancellor will designate one UAPB secretary at the outset of each school year to attend Senate and Assembly meetings to take and type the minutes for submission to the Senate’s elected secretary.
G. Standing Committees
Much of the study and work accomplished in the name of the Senate will be done by standing committees which represent the broad involvement of UAPB personnel. No committee action designed for the development of institutional policy is to be final until acted upon by the Senate and Chancellor as specified.
H. Membership
Committee membership may include any employee of UAPB who may have responsibility or experience within the functional committee areas described herein. Provision is also made for
students to serve on selected committees. Except for specified positions named, all committee
members will be nominated by the Committee on Committees and appointed by the Chancellor for a one-year term.
I. Committees
Committee on Committees: The Committee on Committees will be composed of the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, who will chair committee; the head of each academic school; the President of the Student Government Association; and two senators appointed by the Senate President.
Those members of standing committees who are designated by position will be appointed by the Committee on Committees. The completed list of committee members will be sent to the Senate and forwarded to the Chancellor for further action.
Student nominations will be coordinated with the Student Government Association. To the extent that continuity is not jeopardized, committee members should not be nominated for consecutive terms.
The committee may recommend the establishment, disestablishment, or modification of the standing committee structure in accordance with the amendment procedures prescribed in Section IV.
J. Amendments
The “Rules for the Governance of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff” must be approved by a simple majority vote of the Assembly. The document then must be submitted through the Chancellor
and the President of the University of Arkansas to the Board of Trustees for approval.
Amendments to Sections that are directly related to the enactment of legislation do not require a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, nor is the Board of Trustees approval required.
Amendments that are not directly related to the enactment of legislation must be approved by two- thirds majority vote of the Assembly and may require the Board of Trustees approval.
Resource(s): Board Policy 1510.1 Approved by:
Approval date: Custodian: